Controlling device for motor-vehicles.



T. L. 6: T. J. STURTBVANT. CONTROLLING DEVICE FOR MOTOR VEHICLES.

APPLIOATIOH FILED AUG. 8. 1907.

Patented Jan. 19, 1909.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS LEGGETT STURTEVANT, OF QUINCY, AND THOMAS JOSEPH STURTEVANT, OF

OONTROLLDIG DEVICE FOR MOTOBFVEEIOIEB.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 19, 1909.

mall whom-it-maq comem:

Beit known that we, Tnouas L. S'ron'mum and Tnomas J. STURTEVANT,citizens of the United States, residing, respectively at Quincy andWellesle in the count of Norfolk and State of assachusetts, ave-invented or discovered certain new and useful lmprovements inControlling Devices for Motor-Vehicles, of which the following is aspecification, reference being bad therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention has for its object to provide a simple controllin devicefor motor -vehicles so'that, through the medium of a s'heel-and-toe ordouble-acting pedal device, which may be operated by one foot of thedriver, power may be turned on, to start the machine, and the brake bereleased; or, conversely, when the machine is running, the power may beshut off and the brake applied ,to arrest the-movement of the vehicle.To the end the double-actin pedal-device is preferably connected to t epower-controlmg devlce of a motor vehicle, as the throttle g3 arm-orlever, in such a manner that by a ressure of'the toe or ball portion ofthe oot'the power may be turned on and the brake be released, and by apressure of the died the power may be turned ofi and the soibrakeapplied.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a sectional elevationillustrative of the invention in connection with a motor-vehiclehydro-carbon engine and clutch device and s5 gear-in and Fi 2 is adetail view illustrative o -a somew at different form of the inventionfrom that shown in Fig. 1.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawings, 12

denotes a hydro-carbon or internal-combus 'taon'engme, which may be ofany suitable or well-known constructiomand 13 denotes the arm or leverof a power-controllin or throttle valve which regulates the supp y ofaseous' fuel to the engine, such gaseous fue be- -'ing supplied from acarbureter 14 which na 'be of any well-known construction.*Slutablypivoted, as'onarod or pin 15 on the foot board of the machineisa heel-andtoeor double actingpedal 16 having an arm by a rod 18 withthe throttle armorllever 13. The arm 17 is also conmeoted by and 19 witha brake lever 20 by 'which abraking force may beappliedio a brake drumor wheel 21- by means of a fric- The braking device herein partly shownis, or may be, substantial] the same as that fully described in our S.Patent No. 838,061, granted December '11, 1906, a and in which the powerof a driven shaft-is utilized to apply the brake so that only a veslight amount of manual poweris requir in operating the brake lever.

, In the mechanism herein illustrated the fly-wheel 23 is suitablyconnected with the crank shaft of the engine, so as to rotate therewith,the said fly-wheel normally runnin loose relative to theower-transmitting sha t 24, and the said wheel is operatively connectedwith said shaft when the vehicle is to be driven, through the medium ofmulti le-disk friction clutch-devices 25 which wi 1 be in frictionalclutching engagement, to cause the shaft 24 to be driven, when thefly-wheel reaches a certain predetermined speed of rotation, suchfrictional clutch en agement being efl'ected by weighted centri ugallevers 26 operating in o osition to clutch-releasing springs 27. 'sautomatic clutch device is essentially the same in its princi 1c ofoperation as that shown and descri ed in our :Patent No. 766,551,granted Aug. 2 1904, although, 3 ecifically, the said clutch device is1i eat which is shown and describedin our allowed applications, No.353,338, filed Jan. 21, 1907, and No. 365,055, filed March 28, 1907. Inthis particular form of our improved clutch de ice there is. provided alever 28 b which the driver may control or restrain t 1e automaticaction of the clutch device, or, in other words, the automatic clutchdevi-cis sup lemcnted by a manual-control device. he term automaticclutch device as em loyed in the claims of this case will there ore beunderstood to refer to a clutch device in which the clutehingoandunclutching-o tions are normally efi'ected automatical y as bycentrifugal :foroe'or otherwise, who or such automatic actionbe-supplementetllor controlled by manual actionor not. Also in 'the-form of "the invention -herein 'ilh 1strated the ower-transmittin shaft24 .is connected with the driving aft 29'ofthe vehicle through. asuitable chwnge-speed and reversing gear 'mechanism contained within thegear box 80,-and similar in construction and operation to the gearingmechanism fully described in our said Patent "No.

- 466,551; said gearing mechanism comprising the counter-shaft 31 towhich the brake wheel or drum 21 is attached.

It is preferable, although not absolutely necessary, that means shouldbe provided for normally holding the edal 16 m a neutral position. Tothis en a rod 32 is pivotally attached at one end to the arm 17 on thesaid pedal, the said rod passing through a bracket or loop 33 onopposite sides of which, and interposed between nuts or collars 34 onsaid rod, are coil springs 35 which serve, as will be understood, tonormally retain the pedal 16 in its neutral position as shown in t edrawing. The arm 17 is preferably loosely connected with thethrottlelever operating-rod 18, by means of a pin 36 on said arm workinin a slot 37 on said rod, so as to provide or a suitable amount of lostmotion between the said arm and said rod. Also, as it is desirable notto entirely shut off the power from the engine, so that the latter maycontinue to run slowly when the automatic clutch device is disengaged orreleased, a stop-pin 39 is preferably provided to limit the closingmovement of the throttle arm or lever 13, the final stoping of theengine being preferably effected y breaking the sparking circuit ratherthan by entirely closing the throttle valve.

In the form of our invention shown in Fig, 2 the double-actingmpedaldevice comprises two independent l-crank levers 40 and 41, the lever 40bein connected with the throttle arm or lever day a rod 42 and the lever41 being connected with the brake device by a rod 43; ull-back s rings44 and 46 being preferab ly provided to hold the said levers in theirneutral positions against sto s 47 and 48, respectively. It will be unerstood, of course, that in connection with the form of the doubleacting pedal device, shown in Fig. 2, a brake an a throttle arm orlever, to which the said pedal device may be connected, as shownin ig.1, will be employed; and that an automatic clutch device, such as shownin Fig. 1, or its e uivalent, will also preferably be emplyed inconnection with this form of the invention.

From the foregoing it will be understood that by means of a singleheel-and-toe or double-actin pedal device, requiring only one foot of te driver for its positive operation in both directions the power may beturned on and the brake released, or, vice versa, the power may be shutofi and the brake a plied. If a rake device by which the braking forceis to be applied by the driver be employed, this heel-and-toe pedaldevice Wiii be particuiariy desirabie, as w-iii be understood, for thereason that 3! powerful braking action may be appxlie y the driverthrough the medium of t e heel pressure which may be exerted; and if anauto matic brake device, such as is herein partly steam,

illustrated, arid by which the movement of a running shaft is to beutilized in applying the brake, this heel-and-toe or double-actingmechanism will likewise be found convenient and efficient.

We do not wish to be understood as limiting our invention to the detailsherein shown, as the articular forms of the engine, the clutch device orthe brake device herein illustrated are not of the essence of ourinvention, and any well known equivalents for these features 'may besubstituted for those herein set forth without de arting from theessence of our invention, w ich, it will be understood, is equallyapplicable to motor vehicles emplo ing steam engines or electric motorsin that the pedal device loyed for operating the powercontrolling evicesthereof in turnin the or the electric current, on or o in a manner analoous to that by which the ower is turne on or ofi in the constructioniierein illustrated by opening or closing the throttle-valve of thehydrocarbon engine in connection with which we preferably apply ourinvention.

It will of course be understood that the term heel-and-toe as hereinused with might be em reference to the double-acting pedal deviceapplies equally to the single-element edaldevice shown in Fig. 1 and thedoub e element pedal device shown in Fig. 2 and in which latter the toeor ball portion of the foot element of the said eda device is operativeinde endently o the heel element of said eda device; and it will also beunderstoo that the term heel-and-toe as herein used with reference tothe doubleactin pedal device will mean a dal device to w ich pressuremay be app ied by the ball portion or forward sole portion of the foot,in addition to the pressure which may be applied to the heel portion ofthe same foot of the driver.

Having thus described our invention we claim and desire to secure byLetters Pat ent:

1. In a motor vehicle, the combination with a power-controllin deviceand an automatic clutch device, 0 a brake device by which movement ofthe vehicle may be restrained or arrested, a heeland-toe or double-actinpedal device, and connections between sai pedal device and saidowercontrolling and brake devices; where y, by the movement of one foot,the power may be turned on and the brake released, or vice versa.

2. Ina motor vehicle, the combination with a ower-controiiing device, ofa brake deyice y which movement of the vehicle may be restrained orarrested, a heel-and-toe or double-acting pedal device, springs fornormally holding said ped al-device in a neutral position, andconnections between said edal device and said power-controlling and rakedevices; whereb by the movement of one foot, the power may be turned onand the brake released, or vice versa.

3. In a motor vehicle, the combination with a power-controllin deviceand an automatic clutch device, 0 a brake device by which movement ofthe vehicle may be restrained or arrested, a heeland toe ordouble-acting pedal device, springs for nor mally holding saidpedal-device in a neutral sosition, and connections between said pedalevice and said power-controlling and brake-devices; whereby, by themovement of one foot, the power may be turned on and the brake released,or vice versa.

4. In a motor vehicle, the combination with an engine or motor, of apower-controlling device therefor, an automatic clutch device, a brakedevice, and a double-acting or heel and toe pedal device connected withsaid power-controlling and brake devices and adapted to be positivelyactuated in opposite directions; whereby, by the movement of one foot,the power may be turned on and the brake released, or vice versa,accordin to Whether toe or heel pressure be applie 5. In amotor-vehicle, the combination with an engine or motor, of apower-controlling device therefor, an automatic clutch device, a brakedevice, a double-acting or heeland-toe pedal device connected with saidpower-controlling and brake devices and adapted to be positivelyactuated in opposite directions, and springs for holding saidheel-and-toe pedal device in a neutral position; whereby, by theopposite movements of one foot, the power may be turned on and the brakereleased, or vice versa, according to whether toe or heel pressure beapplied.

In testimony whereof we aflix our signatures, in presence of twowitnesses.

THOMAS LEGGETT STURTEVANT. THOMAS JOSEPH STURTEVANT.

Witnesses:

W. H. ELLIS, L. H. STURTEVANT.

